Crunch
by WrittenInSilence
Summary: You remember the scene where Toguro chose to go to the darkest circle of hell, or something like that? Here's a little piece of his journey while he walks along the path.


This is my first YYH story, so...yeah. Hope you enjoy

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Toguro sighed as he walked up along the dusty path that led to his final resting place. Well, you couldn't really call it a resting place, it being a place of torture and all that. He bit back a rueful smile and continued on his way, not minding the broken bridges above his head.

Just a few seconds after he started his journey, he heard a small conversation. He tilted his head upwards to see a ghostly woman and girl, whom he assumed to be the woman's daughter, walked by.

"Be careful Koyuki," the woman gently said, keeping the girl close to her. The girl brightly smiled up at the woman and nodded vigorously.

"Ok, mama!" The two continued on their way and Toguro couldn't help but smile as he watched them pass. He let a chuckle unintentionally pass his lips but caught himself quickly. It seemed that the little girl named Koyuki heard him and she turned her head back to glance at him. However, she couldn't see the broken board she was just about to step on.

"Aaaahhh!!" Koyuki screamed. Her hands flailed about as she tried to grab on to something to stop her from falling. Her mother snapped her head around and tried to take Koyuki's hand.

"Koyuki!"

"Mama!" Koyuki's mother couldn't move quickly enough and Koyuki's fingers just brushed against hers. However, Toguro, with all his training as a martial artist, could. Toguro bounded over and caught little Koyuki as she fell. There was a soft thump as she landed safely in his arms.

"You're safe now," Toguro smiled. Koyuki glanced up at his face and shakily smiled a little. She nodded slightly more confidently and beamed.

"Thank you, mister," she said quietly. Toguro smiled and nodded back to her.

"Koyuki!" The woman glanced down and saw Koyuki safe with Toguro. "Thank you so much!" she said to Toguro. "Thank you for saving my little Koyuki!" Toguro smiled once again as he handed Koyuki up to the distressed mother.

"No problem. You two just get out of here. It's pretty dangerous." The woman nodded and she picked up Koyuki in her arms. Toguro breathed out a little as he went on to continue his walk. _'Good. Now I don't have to worry about those two anymo-'_

"Excuse me, mister," Koyuki's voice came. Toguro stopped in mid-stride turned around to see Koyuki with one arm stretched out. Clenched in her little fist was a wooden doll. A doll with pink hair.

"Yes?"

"You can have my doll. It's thank you for saving me," she said. She smiled hopefully as she held up the doll higher. Toguro kept his face indifferent as he took the doll. Inside, he was putting Genkai's face on the doll. It already had the hair to match.

"Yeah, sure." He pocketed it and turned around yet again, this time, not wanting to look back. He heard the sound of giggling and a soft, gentle voice. His hand in pocket, he clenched the doll tightly. He stepped on the same board that had nearly led Koyuki to her, second, death.

_Crunch  
_

Toguro still held on to the doll as he removed his sunglasses. He turned his head around, smiling yet again. _'I seem to be smiling a lot now,'_ he thought sardonically. Not letting go of the doll, he looked into Genkai's face to preserve it in his memory.

"Sorry for being so much trouble," he said to Genkai. He quickly turned away again, not wanting to see the look on Genkai's face. He already knew what it looked like. Her pale skin, long pink hair billowing out behind her, adding an ethereal touch with the pink sky behind her. But most of all, her eyes. Those deep, gentle eyes he stared into for so long were now so foreign.

He snapped himself out of those thoughts and continued walking, his hand never leaving his pocket. As he neared his final destination, he thought he heard sobbing. He shook it off. _'It must be my imagination. She never cried. Never. . .'_

The gates opened with a loud creak, most likely not having been opened in a long while. But that still didn't drown out the sobbing he heard from both soft voices. _'Wait, both?' _Toguro glanced back one last time. There was Genkai, as he expected. And beside her, Koyuki, also crying.

Taking one last deep breath, he stepped through the doorway. As it swung shut behind him, he heard the footsteps slowly fading, slowly walking further away. He smiled. _'That's right Genkai. Urameshi needs you. And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you but I love you.'_ A loud sound echoed as the door finally slammed shut, trapping him inside the darkness.

_Crunch_

Another agonized scream pierced the inky darkness. It reached fever-pitch before dying down abruptly. A roar soon followed it, accompanied by the dripping of blood. Another tortured soul. Not that anyone would care.

Toguro glanced at the shadows holding him to the wall. He was most probably the only person inside here. The pain had relented for just a second and he sighed in relief. If anyone could see inside, he was in terrible condition. His hair was matted with dried blood and his skin raw and bleeding.

'_How long have I been in here?'_ he asked himself. _'Ten years? A hundred? Ah, it doesn't matter anyway.' _A jolt of pure pain ran down his entire body and he cried out in agony. It stopped after what seemed like an eternity and he relaxed again. He shifted his left leg slightly, despite the pain it caused him, and he panicked slightly as he couldn't find the doll.

'_Where is it?! Where is it?!'_ For the entire time he had been here, that doll had been his only link to sanity. Despite the pain he had endured, he had been able to survive because of the doll. _'Where is it?!' _The more he tried to struggle, the tighter the shadows bound him. Eventually, he couldn't move and gave up.

Then, the doll appeared in front of him. It was mangled and broken beyond all repair. The pink hair was ripped out and a few clumps of stringy material were all that was left of the hair. The clothes of the doll were gone and it was broken in half. He saw the shadow that was holding it retreat slightly and he knew what it was going to do.

"NO!!" His first, and last, coherent word since entering would be futile. The shadow let the doll drop down, out of sight, and ultimately, to destruction. Toguro roared and tried to move, even the slightest inch. Nothing. Except for the excruciating sound of the doll hitting the bottom-

_Crunch_

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How was it? Good? Bad? Constructive criticism greatly appreciated!


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